The concentration of the urea-formaldehyde resin (UF) industry is low, and adhesives are its largest demand end.

Urea-formaldehyde resin (UF), also known as urea-formaldehyde resin, refers to a thermosetting resin made by condensation and solidification of urea and formaldehyde under the action of a catalyst. Urea-formaldehyde resin has the characteristics of good insulation performance, low production cost, high viscosity, good flexibility, and good insulation performance. It is widely used in adhesives, decorations, daily necessities, instrumentation and other fields.

Urea and formaldehyde are the main raw materials of urea-formaldehyde resin. my country is the world’s largest urea producer, and its production technology and equipment have reached advanced levels. In 2022, my country’s urea production will reach 61.201 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 10.8%. In recent years, with the gradual implementation of national environmental protection policies, the threshold of my country’s urea and formaldehyde industries has continued to increase, driving the expansion of the market share of high-quality products, which laid a good foundation for the development of the urea-formaldehyde resin industry.

The production methods of urea-formaldehyde resin include continuous method and batch method. The continuous method can be divided into liquid phase method and gas phase method. The liquid phase method refers to using a mixture of urea and formaldehyde as raw materials to obtain urea-formaldehyde resin through processes such as heating, evaporation, and polycondensation. The batch production process includes mixing raw materials, heating, cooling, polycondensation, dehydration, adding stabilizers, filtration, etc. This method is the mainstream production method of urea-formaldehyde resin. Benefiting from the simple production process, low production costs and sufficient supply of raw materials, my country’s urea-formaldehyde resin output has maintained a steady growth trend.

According to the “2023-2028 China Urea Formaldehyde Resin (UF) Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center It shows that urea-formaldehyde resin has a wide range of applications, and adhesives are its largest demand end, accounting for nearly 90% of the demand. Urea-formaldehyde resin adhesive can be used to manufacture artificial boards, including fiberboard, plywood, particleboard, wood chip board, etc. Fiberboard is an important panel for furniture manufacturing and interior decoration, and its output continues to increase. In 2022, my country’s fiberboard output will reach 65.203 million cubic meters. With the increasingly strong downstream demand, the development space of my country’s urea-formaldehyde resin industry will further expand.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ By ​​​​ Shandong Haoshun Chemical Co., Ltd., Jinan Boao Chemical Co., Ltd., Langfang Chensong Chemical Co., Ltd. are the main manufacturers of urea-formaldehyde resin in my country. In the early stage, urea-formaldehyde resin has defects such as poor shrinkage, easy production of formaldehyde pollution, and high brittleness. It needs to be modified to meet market demand. It is expected that companies with the production capacity of modified urea-formaldehyde resin will occupy more market shares in the future.

Industry analysts said that urea-formaldehyde resin, as a raw material for adhesives, has the advantages of low production cost and high viscosity. It is widely used in artificial boards, furniture, It is widely used in electrical appliances and other fields. Benefiting from the sufficient supply of raw materials and mature production technology, the output and quality of urea-formaldehyde resin in my country have further improved. However, at present, the competitive landscape of my country’s urea-formaldehyde resin market is relatively fragmented. In the future, as local companies continue to increase their investment in research and development of green processes, the concentration of my country’s urea-formaldehyde resin industry will increase.